We pick up this week’s episode with the Jackie/Mimi train wreck/therapy session.Mimi had left the room, and the therapist asks Jackie why she is still in it.Jackie realizes she is punishing herself by staying in it.Mimi comes back in, more bitching.The therapist points out that they must be miserable.Jackie (finally) realizes that she is “at her end.”(Thank you thank you thank you.Please do NOT bring Mimi back on the show)

Sky Lab is the new priority.The objective is to teach overweight clients to eat right, cook right, exercise, and rehabilitate emotionally.

Jackie interviews several potential clients and tries to get to the heart of the weight issues before assigning them to trainers in order to see if they qualify for Sky Lab (still a bit confused as to what exactly Sky Lab is.If it is her new branch, why do the same trainers work there?Or do they all work there and not Sky Sport anymore?)

Tess from last season is one of the potential clients.She was making incredible strides and lost more than 20 pounds of fat in season 1.Then, misfortune struck and Tess hurt her knee, and gained all the weight back over the past 6 months.Jackie is super emotionally invested in Tess’ progress.

Each client goes then goes through hydrostatic weighing to measure their body fat.They jump in a tank of water, inhale 3 times, and exhale as they go under.This is supposed to be the most reliable method to measure body fat.This is pretty cool. I’ve only had my body fat tested with calpers.

We come back to the gym to set up some more Doug/Jesse drama.They are each working out with clients, and Jesse takes his outside to get further away from Doug.Peeler starts to make fun of Jesse. Oh snap!Beef in da gym!

Jackie eventually says something to Jesse about making up with Doug. We’ll see.

Some time is spent devoted to Jackie working out D-List comedian Kathy Griffin.Zzzzz

Jackie is on the phone with best friend Erin, confirming the breakup. Jackie is more relieved than sad. At the end of the therapy session, we are only left to assume they end things.

Rebecca shows up at Jackie’s pad. Jackie is “opening her door to Rebecca,” and taking her to a lesbian bar.Rebecca admits that she’s hooked up with a girl.Rebecca tells Jackie about her hookup and says she didn’t know what she was doing.Jackie sure wishes she had been there.

Jackie admits her first time with a guy and first time with a girl both happened when she was 13.Rebecca tells her she was a “secret slut.” What a bonding moment between the two.

They finally go out, and Rebecca says this is her integration into the lesbian world.All these lesbians keep coming up to Jackie.“Lesbians runneth amuck.”Rebecca says to Jackie, you know you want to do me. Jackie denies.

Commercial

The trainers are having a meeting about Sky Lab, and Jackie assigns each trainer a new client.Their job is to act as both a therapist AND a trainer. Even though they are certified as only trainers.Still, it is good to be able to talk to your trainer on that type of level.Trainers who do that are usually better trainers. But how close is too close?

After assigning them to clients, Jackie tells them it is their turn to have their body fat tested. They aren’t happy, but they do it.And of course, Peeler “could not wait to see “Jesse’s fat ass in the water…to set him right.”

Jackie explains that 65% of Americans have over 30% body fat.

The optimal range for women is 13-19%, and for men it is 5-15%.Here are the results:

Erika 13.4%

Rebecca 13.1%

Zen 18.2%

Gregg 10.1%

Andre 10.6%

Doug 10.4%

Peeler 8.6%

Jesse21.3%

Jackie first digs at Peeler and tells him she is shocked that he hast he lowest body fat.She is even more shocked by Jesse’s results, and that his body fat is higher than the women’s.

Joanna Krupa (model) comes to work out with Peeler.She notices that as she gets older she needs to work out.Peeler says that even when you are at the top of your game, you have things you want to improve.His training is a “dynamic workout and weight training regimen.” It looks good.Peeler says he is the best trainer, ever.Open challenge?

Victoria Fuller, playmate, comes in to workout with Rebecca.She just had a baby and needs to drop 20 pounds. Rebecca tells her about her night out with Jackie.Victoria tells her she dated a girl for 4 months.Rebecca keeps asking questions, Victoria doesn’t seem to want to answer.

Commercial

Jakcie is throwing a party for her trainers at her now house in the Hollywood hills.Rebecca says she is going to start dating Jackie so that she can sleep in her bed. (since it comfortable and King Size)

Andre and Peeler walk in with a bucket of beers.

Jesse tells us that nobody parties harder than trainers.If you give them a bottle, good lord.They spend all week concentrating on fitness and eating, that when given the chance to let loose on the weekend, they go all out.I subscribe to that school of thought.

They do shots, and shots, and shots. Some tall Russian chick is all over Jackie.Jesse and Doug make up.Now, this is a party.

Jackie starts talking about someone training her.Peeler gets cocky and says that she will never be the same if she works out with him.Uh oh.

HDA – Jackie starts going off and puts Peeler in his place.Says that he has a job because of her.He is riding the coattails of her and her empire.Oh snap!

Commercial

Peeler says don’t make me feel like crap in front of people he doesn’t know to Andre about Jackie in the bathroom.He then works in his “hands of Michelangelo” line.Peeler walks out of the party.Doug tries to get him to come back.

Jackie does a shot in honor of Peeler and says “may he grow up.”

Rebecca and Jackie start getting all flirty to end the show.

At the beginning of Cycle 1, Erika was Jackie’s “best friend.” At the end of the Cycle and beginning of Cycle 2, it was Jesse. Now she is moving on to Rebecca. She sure does go through her trainers fast!

The new season of Work Out is upon us, and opens with a surprising message: Dedicated in loving memory to Doug Blasdell.

Apparently, Doug, the oldest trainer on the show, passed away earlier this year due to a severe illness, after the filming of this season.

Jackie Warner starts talking about how her life has changed since Cycle 1.Mimi is still in her life, and they are trying to work things out.Sky Sports was a roaring success, and now she is about to open a new branch, Sky Lab.

We then get some snippets of the trainers talking about themselves and each other.Here are some of the highlights!

–Gregg – The New Guy.Dated Zen.

–Rebecca (was she really this hot on the Amazing Race?) – Loves to spank other chicks, has a great ass.

–Brian Peeler – Can create a masterpiece out of anything, like Michelangelo, only he probably doesn’t know who Michelangelo is, according to Jesse.

–Jesse – The Favorite, Jackie’s bitch, and he likes to eat, and cook, and eat, and eat.

–Andre -The Military Guy

–Doug – The gay brother Peeler never had.

–Zen – She mentions that her parents were not flower children

After we get the refresher on who these trainers are, we cut back to Jackie, who is starting a new branch, Sky Labs. Jackie doesn’t like how the trainers let the success of last season get to their heads, so to put them back in their place, she organizes a Beach Boot camp. She orders them to take their shirts off, but Jesse doesn’t want to because he is “gay fat.” (I wonder if that is different from normal fat because he sure just looked fat to me).

The trainers start whining, Jesse points out that Jackie doesn’t ever do the boot camps herself (is he still the favorite?), and Rebecca, jokingly, calls her a whore (we ain’t seen nothing yet).

Erika comes up with some crazy exercise.Peeler complains that it is too complicated.

All of the trainers, except for Zen and Erika, give up and go get water.Jackie taunts them after Zen and Erika finish the complicated exercise, saying those two girls could do it, and nobody else could.Jackie does point out that they would never let their clients just give up and walk away.

Cut to clips from last season of bickering between Jackie and Mimi, culminating with Mimi hurling glass at a bar at Jackie, Rebecca, and Mrs. Peeler.

I bet you thought it was all over then!Guess what, it’s not, as Mimi and Jackie are trying to work things out. Jackie admits that Mimi is her “personal addiction.”

After the commercial break, we get an insight into what is happening in the gym between the trainers and clients. (Sort of)

Gregg is working out client Daniel, who is trying to get bigger and eating 4,000 calories a day.He says he is eating a lot of chicken and eggs, and Gregg tells him that eggs are his best friend.Daniel started off at 141 pounds, as Gregg puts it, “your average frat boy.”Frat boys are scrawny?

We get the scoop on Zen and Gregg; she says he is too young for her at 23.

Ellie K., a radio talk show host, is training with Jesse. They seem to love each other and friends outside of the gym, partaking in fast food binges.

Jackie is giving Jesse a hard time for getting fat, because he should be a representative of Sky Sports and Sky Lab (I wondered if it really mattered in “Fat Trainer”).Ellie K. is with them and keeps telling Jackie about all the crap she sees Jesse eat.

Doug’s former partner of 14 years comes in to work out with him.He is trying to get back into shape before his kidney transplant. Eerie that his friend is very sick then Doug gets sick after the season airs.

Commercial.

Erika walks in to train client Beverly, who drives down from Vegas every weekend (an 8 hour drive) to train. (No doubt Erika is hot, but she couldn’t find anyone closer?)She can relate to Beverly because they both have had eating disorders.Beverly is happy she found someone who she can relate to, which prompts Erika to say, “they say, when the student is ready the teacher will appear.”

Doug and Jesse are talking, separately, about how they each had been interviewed after Cycle 1, and had said things about each other.Doug called him Jack from Will and Grace.Jesse said some mean things about Doug to the papers.(I smell a catfight!)

Jesse is Jackie’s best friend in the gym.They start talking about how Doug and Jesse don’t get along, then the conversation turns to Mimi and their lack of communication.They go to a hairdresser, where Jesse gets his nostrils waxed. (OMFG are you crazy?!)

High Drama Alert (HDA) The crew goes to some Gay/Lesbian function.Jackie gets a hotel room for them to chill at and knock back a few cocktails.Peeler, the mischievous little rascal, stirs the pot and asks if there is still a Jesse-Doug beef.

Doug explains to the camera he meant what he said as a compliment, that Jack was his favorite character on his favorite show, Will and Grace.(Hehe)Cut back to the room, andJesse is a little trashed and keeps going off on Doug.

Commercial. More arguing.Jesse can’t forgive just yet.Rebecca points out that it is Jesse’s limitations that he can’t accept apologies. (Thank god that is over)

(HDA) Jackie and Mimi go to couple’s counseling.They start cracking up when therapist asks why they are at therapy.First she asks about fighting, then sex.It kind of seems like Mimi is a little tipsy. The two have it out, start yelling at each other, blaming each other.Every time Jackie tries to say something, Mimi says “Yeah, yeah, yeah. You’re full of shit.”The therapist says they have awful communication (shocker) and doesn’t know why they are together.Mimi walks out.

From the looks of the previews for the upcoming shows, it looks like Mimi won’t be back.Jackie starts hooking up with Rebecca?! and it looks like we are set for a whole heaping more of HDA alongside our HLA.

Takeaways for the FitFiends

–Eggs are your best friend.

–Trainers need to set an example for their clients.

–Finding the right trainer for you is extremely important to achieve goals. Not all trainers necessarily can relate to you or work you out the way you need.

I must admit, that I watched Season 1 of “Work Out” on Bravo last fall. I am always a little embarrassed to admit it, but it turns out that most people I know, especially ones into fitness, also watched it.

What exactly is the show about?It is about Jackie Warner, the owner of Sky Sport and Spa in LA, and her travails in building her brand and gym, which seems to focus on one-on-one personal training.When I first heard about the show, I (naively) thought, oh sweet, I’ll probably see a reality show that really cuts into some serious fitness and personal training issues.Boy, was I wrong.The only thing that really stuck that I had never consciously thought about before was that one should never go grocery shopping when hungry.

Did I pick up any other workout related tips/ideas?Not really.Some of the episodes contained some emotional tales of weight loss from regular people (who I am surprised would be able to even afford personal training sessions at an upscale one-on-one personal training facility), and even some celebrities, like Jodie Watley.

Another theme involved the interactions between the Jackie and her trainers, and especially whether or not they were good enough to work for her.I do remember Jackie coming out on the floor to correct a trainer in the middle of a session with a client.I don’t remember exactly what it was, but I remember thinking something like, wow, 1) your “elite” trainers do not know how to show a client how to do a simple tricep pushdown?! And 2) you would actually go and point this out in front of someone who is probably paying a buttload a session.

Even though the show was soft on fitness, it certainly was heavy on drama.What ended up being the most entertaining part of the show was Jackie’s relationship with her girlfriend, Mimi.This is probably the thing that kept people coming back to watch; there was always the potential for some hot lesbian action, and always the certainty of glass shattering catfights!

According to the previews for Season 2, which is set to launch in March, Jackie and Mimi appear to be trying to work things out, and Jackie goes out and hires a new trainer, and trainers Rebecca and Peeler are still rebelling against Jackie’s law.Do I hope that they will delve deeper into the fitness aspect of the show?Undoubtedly.Do I think they will?Of course not, but hey, I’ll be watching.